1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a security apparatus for the protection of equipment against theft and tampering. More specifically, the invention aims at providing a simple, aesthetical, adjustable, reliable and economical solution to the increasing problem of electronic equipment theft and/or tampering. The invention particularly addresses the even more actual problem of computer mutilation, that is theft of specific parts thereof, such as disk drives, expansion boards etc. from inside the equipment, leaving the most cumbersome pieces of hardware on the site.
2. Brief Description of the Prior Art
Solutions to this kind of problem have been proposed in the past but these prior art solutions all suffer from major drawbacks. U.S. Pat. No. 5,660,451 (Glynn) issued on Aug. 26, 1997 discloses a type of solution providing a closed while vented housing, fastened to the work surface, in which the equipment is nested leaving access to the front panel only. Although it is true that such a solution generally provides an efficient remedy against tampering, its main drawback is its very low level of flexibility to match the different sizes and shapes of equipment on the market.
A certain level of adaptability to size and shape is provided by the type of solution disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,076,079 granted to Monoson et al., on Dec. 31, 1991 which squeezes the equipment between a pair of jaws, one of which can be moved to provide an adjustable width, while the other is removably assembled to the fastened base plate using a locking mechanism. That proposed solution however allows unlimited access to the inside of the equipment from the rear or front panel.
Other solutions such as those disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,696,449 (Woo et al.) issued on Sep. 29, 1987, U.S. Pat. No. 5,085,395 granted to Frater et al., on Feb. 4, 1992 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,135,197 granted to Kelley et al., on Aug. 4, 1992 provide a reasonable protection against theft and tampering since the equipment lies on a fastened base having fixed members limiting its movement in two axis and one or two U-shaped arms assembled to the base and retraining the movement of the equipment in the third axis. Those solutions still provide a very minimal restriction regarding the access to the rear panel and to the inside components of the equipment. Furthermore, they include no adjustment capability to receive equipments of various sizes and shapes.